Ransomware on the rise in 2015

Sep 18, 2015

In the second quarter of 2015 there was an average of 230 000 new malware samples created daily, totalling 21 million from April to June. This is a 43% increase in comparison to the second quarter of 2014.
Trojans continue to be the most common type of malware and are the main source of infection, with 76,25% of users infected. This quarter also showed the proliferation of PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) which accounted for 14,39% of infections.
“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in ransomware over the last few months,” says Panda country manager, Jeremy Matthews. “What users don’t realise is that these kinds of attacks will continue to grow, as long as companies and consumers succumb to paying the ransom – this should be a last resort.”
Ransomware was one of the main threats that infected businesses and users’ personal computers alike. This type of attack can be traced back 20 years, but has become increasingly popular of late, due to the fact that money can now be transferred anonymously and to untraceable accounts. Ransomware has become cyber-criminals’ preferred method to make money from companies’ stolen information.
This quarter also presented growth in attacks on mobile devices. Not only is malware being developed, but ransomware for Android seems to be the latest trend. In June, PandaLabs detected a phishing campaign directed at Android developers that published their creations on the Google Play store. The attack consisted of stealing password information in order to propagate malware via Google Play.
The rates of infection worldwide – show that Asia and Latin America, placed above the average of 33,21%. China was the country with the highest rate of infection at 47,53%, followed by Turkey at 43,11% and Peru at 41,97%. Europe and Japan were the areas with the lowest rate of infection. With Sweden, Norway and Japan – amongst the countries with the lowest infection.